Grain-door for cars.



No. 333,503. 3 PATENTED 0GT.16, 1903.

' T. E. BRANSON.

GRAIN 11003 FOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 23.1906. 7

- Z. 3 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1-.

No. 833,503. PATENTED OUT. 16, 1906. T. E. BRANSON.

GRAIN DOOR FOR CARS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 23. 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

sans

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'rrL'enMAn E. BRANSON, or BELLE PLAINE, KANSAS, ssrenoa or oun- THIRD TOnaaar HATFIELD AND ONE-THIRD ro w. s. rosrsa, or

BELLE PLAIN E, KANSAS.

seam-noon FOR Cans.

Patented Oct. is, race.

improvements in Pgrani-doors for cars. Y

. 10- The object of the present invention is to improve the constructionof aim-doors for cars, more especially that s own and de scribed inPatent No. 687,618, granted tome the 26th day of November, 1901, and toprovide sim le, inexpensive, and efficient means for enab 'nggrain-doorsof loaded cars to be easily lifted without the use of crowbars, levers,and other tools tending to destroy or otherwise. injure a grain-door,and thereby Q facilitate the preservation of the latter and at the sametune prevent leaks and effect a great'saving in time. 1

A further object of the invention is to rovide grain-door-operatingmechanism .w 'ch 25 will be entirely outof the way when not in use andwhich may be conveniently operated from the exterior for partially op agrain-door to relieve the latter of t e pres sure of. the rain.

Another 0 'ject of the invention is to proyide door-lifting mechanismadapted for use on various kinds of doors to eflect such partial openingwithout inj uring either the graindoor or the car. I

With these and-other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arran ement of parts hereinafterfully described, il ust'rated in the accompanying drawings, and pointedout in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of constructionwithin the scope of the claims may be resorted to without de artin fromthe spirit or sacrificing any 0 the advantages of t e invention. I

- In the drawings, Figure-1 is a longitudinal sectional view 0 a portionof a car provided with a ain-doo'r constructed in accordance with thisinvention and shown closed. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View, theparts being arranged as shown in Fig. '1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional View, the grain-door being open. Fig. 4 is a transversesectional View, the Fparts being arranged as-shown in Fig. 3. i taikenlongitudinally of one of the door-lifting g. 5 is an enlarged detail'view devices and illustrating the manner of slid ably mounting thesame. larged detail view of one o the slidalole door-carrying shoes.Fig. 7 is a detail per spective view of one of the guides for thedoor-carryin shoes. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view illustrating themanner of locking the upper end of the. fastening-bars.

, Like numerals of reference designate conesponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

l designates a grain-door composed of flexible sections or panels 2,ivotally connected by hinges 3 like those s own and described in thesaid patent! The grain-door is slidably connected with guide rods ortracks 4:, located :at opposite sides of the.

doorway 5 of a freight-car 6 as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.The upper sections or panels of the grain-car door arenot connected withthe guide rods or tracks, and the lower and intermediate sections orpanels are provided with hooks '7 and eyes 8. The eyes are arranged .onand connect the grain-' door to the guide rods or tracks, whichterminate short of the-bottom 9 of the car and -which have their lowerportions ,10 bent secured to the roof of the car at the median linethereof. The hooks of the lower sec tions are adapted toslide on theguide rods Fi.6isanen-' or tracks when.the grain-door is moved. upwardfrom the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to that illustrated in Figs. 3and 4, and they are adapted to slide oi the same when the, grain-door isclosed. By this construction" the lower portion of the grain-door isslidably connected with the guide rods or tracks when the grain-door israised, and at the same time the means for slidably connectingthe doorwith the guide rods or tracks do not interfere with the articularconstruction of the lower ends of t e same.

IOO

the upper ends of the fastening-bars, and the hooks are adapted toengage fixed portions 17 of the car. The fixed portions consist oftransverse pins arranged in recesses 18 of the sides of the car. Therecesses 18 are located at opposite sides of the doorway and are coveredby face-plates 19, having slots through which the hooks of the rods orbolts are passed. When the fastening-bars are arranged as shown in Fig.1, the nuts are screwed tightly against the clamping-bars, and thegrain-door is firmly lockedin its closed position. carried by thefastening-bars, which are held when not in use against the sides of thecar by supports or brackets 20 and 21. The supports 21 consist ofangularly-bent plates secured at their upper and lower portions to thesides of the car, forming loops for the lower ends of thefastening-bars. The supports 20 are open at the top and consist ofplates or brackets having lower attachment:

portions and substantially L-shaped upper supporting portions. The upperends of the attachment bars are connected by chains 22 with the opensupports or brackets to prevent the fastening-bars from becomingaccidentally'lost or mislaid. The chains are provided with plates whichare secured to the upper ends of the fastening-bars by the rods or boltsand the nuts thereof. When the fasteningbars are arranged in thesupports or brackets, they are entirely out of the way. The lower endsof the fastening-bars are provided with projecting lips or flanges 23,which are adapted to interlock with face-plates 24, arranged over thesockets 13 of the floor of the car. The lower ends of the fastening-rodsmay be readily introduced into, the sockets by tilting or inclining thefastening-bars inwardly toward the center of the car. The interlockingof the lower ends of the fastening-bars with the floor of the careffectually prevent any accidental upward movement of the'bars, and theycannot when in a vertical position become disengaged from the sockets.These lips or projecting portions 23 may, however, be omitted, ifdesired, as the grain-door is firmly held against vertical movement bywedges 23, interposed between the upper edge of the grain-door and therods or bolts.

When the wedges are driven into position,

there is no liability of the parts becoming accidentally unfastenedthrough any jar or vibration of the car. When the wedges are with- Thelocking devices are drawn, the fastening-bars may be readily removed.

- The grain-door is provided at its top with a loop or handle 25,adapted to be engaged by a holding device 26 for retaining the graindoorin an elevated position at the top of the car, as clearly shown in Figs.3 and 4. The holding device consists of a short chain secured at one endto the top of the car and provided at its other end with a hook forengaging the loop 25.

A loop 27 is also arranged at the top of the car for holding the freeend of the chain when the latter is not in engagement with thegrain-door.

In order to obviate the mconvenience of and the damage resultmg fromforcing gramdoors partially open by means of crowbars,

ranged in guides or ways 31, constructed of,

metal and let into the sides of the car, as clearly shown in Fig. 5' ofthe drawings. Each guide consists-of a back 32 and parallel side walls33, the upper portions of the side walls bein rr'il'ld ed with inwardlro- P Y P jecting front flanges 34%, extending over the front orexterior of the slides and retaining the same in the guides. The frontflanges terminate short of the lower ends of the guides to provide op nspaces to admit of the necessary vertical movement of the projectingportion or foot 30. The upper ends of the slides are provided withperforated flanges or ears 35, to lower ends of wire ropes or cables 36;butchains or any other suitable flexible connections may be employed. 1The wire ropes or cables extend upwa d to a pairof drums 3 7 of aWindlass-shaft 38, journaled in suitable bearings of brackets 39, whichare secured to the sides of the car at opposite sides of the top of thedoorway. The car is provided at opposite sides of the doorway withgrooves 31, extending upward from the guides or ways 31 to receive theflexible connections to enable the same to clear the sides of the car.

The Windlass-shaft is adapted to be rotated for winding the wire ropesor cables on the drums, and for this purpose a ratchet device isemployed, consisting'of a ratchet member or section 40, preferablyformed integral with one of the drums and arranged at the inner endthereof and adapted to be engaged by a ratchet member 41, having aratchet-face for engaging the ratchet section or member 40. The ratchetsection or member 4], which is loosely arranged on the shaft, isprovided with an operating arm or handle 42, and it which are connectedthe is heldin engagement with the section or member 40 by'a coiledspring 43, disposed on the shaft and interposed between the section 41and an adjutable collar 44, which is se-- cured to the shaftby aclamping-screw and which is adapted to be adjusted thereon to vary thetension of the spring. By oscillating the operating arm or lever 42 thewindlass-shaft is continuously rotated and is ada ted to move thegrain-door carriers vertica ly'for partially opening the grain-door. Bythis construction the ain-door may be conveniently opened a su icientdistance to. relieve the grain door of the res'sure of the grain, andafter the door is ree from such pressure the lifting mechanism may bereturned to its initial position. When the slidable ratchet section ormember 41-is disengaged from the ratchet-section 40-and the pawl 45 isdisengaged from the ratchetwheel 46, the weight of the riers will unwindthe fiexib econnections from. the drums and the parts will returnautomatically to their initial position. The

ratchet-wheel is mounted on the shaft at one end thereof, and the pawl,which is pivoted above the shaft, is adapted to engage the ratchet-wheelto prevent retrograde rotation of the shaft. The grain-door may then beraised by hand'and secured at the top of the car by means of the holdingdevice 26, as before explained. Prior to lifting the graindoor thewedges are removed and the locking devices are disengaged from the sideof the car or are loosened sufficiently to permit the door to move. Thegrain-door is adapted to be raised and lowered independently of thelifting mechanism, which may be employed for starting various kinds ofgrain-doors. In-

i stead of employing the hoisting mechanism shown in the accompanyingdrawings vari one other means may be provided for operating thecarriers. The car is provided with v the usual slidable car-doors 47, asclearly'indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

It will. be seen that the mechanism for raising the grain-door isadapted to partially open a grain-door when the same is subjected topressure and without injuring either the car or'the door, therebypreventing the leaks which result from such injury and at the same timeincreasing the durability of the door. Also the. device is adapted toefiect a "great saving in time and lessens the labor-incident to theoperation of grain-doors. Also it will be clear that the liftingmechanism is entirely out of the way when not-in use and that it isapplicable to various kinds of graindoors.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a verticallyain-door carriers.

movable door, of means'for partially raising the same, said meansembodying a verticalllgmovable su port which engages beneath t door whent e latter is in its lowered position I and carries the door to itsraised'position,

said support being separable from the door I i' so as to ermit the doorto have a continued indepen ent movement after the partial raisingof thedoor has been effectedand when the support has normal position at thebottom ofthe car, and

a guidefor retaining the support in sliding engagement with thedoor-frame.

2. The combination with a door, of a vertically-slidable carrier guidedon the carand having a supporting-foot extendingbeneath the door whenthe latter is in its closed position and constructed to raise the doorto a dropped back to its predetermined point, said foot detachablyengaging the door so as to permit the door to have a continuedindependent movement after the foot has dropped back to its normalposition at the bottom of the car, means for raising the carrier, andmeans for retaining the carrier in sliding engagement with the adoor-frame.

3. The combination of a car having a door way and provided at oppositesides with guides, a door, and hoisting mechanism havvi ed withsupporting portions or feet 'arranged to normally engage beneath thelower edge of the door when the latter is in its closed positionforraising the same to a predetermined point, said feet having adetachable engagement with the door so'as to permit the door. to'have' acontinued independent movement after the feet have dropped back to theirnormal position at the bottom door being also provide at its lowerportion with hooks arranged to run on the guiderods and adapted to slideoff the same.

' In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

.1n carriers slidable in the guides and pro- TILGHMAN E. BRANSON.

Witnesses:

IVAN HATFIELD, LoYo T. DODSON.

